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In 2013, there were 18,368 births registered in Australia where one or both parents were Indigenous (six in every 100 births) . Overall, Indigenous women had more children and had them at younger ages than non-Indigenous women.
Indigenous women had, on average, 2.3 births in their lifetime (compared with 1.9 births for all Australian women) . Nearly three-quarters of Indigenous mothers were 30 years or younger when they had their babies, compared with less than one-half of non-Indigenous mothers (Derived from ). Around 18 in 100 Indigenous mothers were teenagers, compared with 3 in 100 for non-Indigenous mothers.
In 2012, babies born to Indigenous mothers weighed an average of 3,211 grams, 162 grams less than those born to non-Indigenous mothers . Babies born to Indigenous mothers were almost twice as likely to be of low birthweight (less than 2,500 grams) than babies born to non-Indigenous mothers. Low birthweight can increase the risk of a child developing health problems.